Harvard Medical School is Cited for Mistreatment of Lab Animals

Please contact Elizabeth Goldentyer to demand that Harvard Medical
School receive the largest fine possible under the Animal Welfare Act
for the negligence which has killed multiple monkeys.
Primates at Harvard have died of dehydration, traumatic injuries, and
following medical procedures.

Please insist that the USDA issue a fine, and let Dr. Goldentyer know
that you hold her personally responsible for the USDA's inaction, and
the deaths of these animals. She MUST take action now!

In less than two years, four monkeys have died in labs at Harvard
Medical School, including one that was left in a cage as the cage went
through a mechanical washer. The most recent death occurred this spring,
when a cotton-top tamarin monkey died of thirst for lack of a water
bottle.

In addition, 41 deer mice died in April at a Harvard facility after
their water source was cut off.

The Department of Agriculture has given the medical school an
official warning for violating the U.S. Animal Welfare Act.

“When you see multiple incidents at the same facility over a period
of time, that’s when you realize that this is indicative of a
system-wide problem,” said Michael Budkie, executive director of Stop
Animal Exploitation Now!

Harvard University made the nonprofit group’s top-10 list of
animal-welfare violators for the first half of 2012, along with Harvard
Medical School. The two institutions have separate licenses from the
USDA to use animals for research and testing.

APHIS also is investigating the death of five monkeys at the
Harvard-affiliated New England Primate Research Center, said USDA
spokesman David Sacks. The center’s interim director, Frederick Wang,
stepped down in March after the death of the tamarin monkey.

In March, Harvard Medical School Dean Jeffrey S. Flier ordered an
independent review panel to evaluate the management and care of animals
used in experiments. The panel’s recommendations included the
appointment of a veterinarian and biosafety officer to oversee the
primate center and the development of “new approaches” to its oversight